Take it slow

Part 1

"Oh my gooood! Maddie, this is amazing!" Chloe squealed as she jumped out of the car before Matt had time to turn off the engine. Maddie shrugged and slung her bag over her shoulder as she got out of the front seat.

"I guess it's pretty cool."

"Pretty cool!? Look at this house, and the view!" Chloe rubbed her eyes before looking out over the lake. The afternoon sun reflected in the still water and turned it into a mirror that showed a perfect image of the clear sky and the trees bordering the beaches. Chloe felt as if she had arrived to heaven. She harboured a secret love for nature and the tranquility it brought to her mind and spirit. If she ever confessed to a religion it would have something to with nature. "This is how I imagine my afterlife," she said before walking back to the car to help her friends unpack.

"There better be wifi," Liz muttered as she grabbed the cooler and started off towards the house. Chloe laughed out loud.

"You're such a city girl." She grabbed her own bag and an anonymous looking bag that clinked an awful lot as she lifted it.

"I'm satisfied with booze, it's a good enough pastime." J winked at Chloe as he put his backpack on his back and grabbed the two remaining bags, clinking as loud as the one she was holding. Chloe rolled her eyes at him.

"We'll be here for two nights, are you going to waste them all by getting smashed?" He gave her a confused look and held up the bags.

"Is that even a question?" Chloe laughed again and closed the door to the trunk and headed off to the house.

"This isn't a house, this is a damn mansion. I already lost the way back to the kitchen." Chloe made big eyes as they all climbed up the stairs to the second floor. She knew Maddie's parents were rich but come on! "How come we've never went here before?"

"Because it's in the middle of nowhere," Maddie answered with a scoff. "Here are the bedrooms." Chloe smiled to herself.

"I love the middle of nowhere."

"You're weird," Liz said and entered the first door on the right as they reached the top of the stairs.

"That'll be your room girls, Matt and I will be sharing the one opposite. J... you can take any of the remaining ones."

"Obviously as far away as possible from you two, you'll be humping each other all night long and I sure don't wanna listen to that." J passed the bedroom next to Maddie's and Matt's and took the one at the end of the hall. He saluted the rest of the group before entering the room. "Sleep tight ladies." He winked again at Chloe who just laughed it off. Maddie giggled as Matt pulled her close and kissed her passionately to prove that J was right about what was going down in that bedroom tonight.

"We'll leave you to it," Chloe laughed and closed the door to her and Liz's bedroom.

"See you guys at the terrace on the first floor in half an hour for an aperitif!" Maddie called out to make sure they all heard through their closed doors. The yelling proved unnecessary since they could all hear Matt mumble when she was done.

"We'll need more than thirty minutes."

Chloe had changed from her comfortable travelling outfit into some shorts and a tanktop and was seated in one of the sunbeds on the terrace. She closed her eyes, her face angled towards the sun, and inhaled deeply. How she wished she could stay there forever.